Ready for an old-fashioned bed turning? Martha Ray of Pawnee will be at the Sod House Museum near Aline to present just that on Saturday, March 17, at 10 a.m.

What is an old-fashioned bed turning? In a time when pioneer women did not have much of a social life, they would bring their quilts when they got together and enjoy the spotlight while telling the story of making the quilt, the fabric used, the pattern and the challenges faced in creating it. With several women in one house there was not a proper place to display all the quilts out in the open, so they would place them in layers on the bed and each woman would take her turn in telling her story. This was the origin of the name “bed turning.”

Martha Ray has extensive knowledge about the history of antique and vintage quilts, and has presented workshops and seminars on the history of quilts. She will present this program in first person, telling stories from the perspective of pioneer women who wrote about their quilts in their letters and diaries. Ray also will explain that a young girl would make quilts for her dowry and in the “bed turning” she would show all the quilts she made from her first quilt up to her wedding quilt, allowing her some well-deserved bragging rights.

The Sod House Museum is open Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and is located southeast of Aline on State Highway 8. For more information contact Director Renee Trindle at 580-463-2441 or [email protected].